eco-system

Eco-System

IIT Madras as an institute has long favored setting up of entrepreneurial ecosystem as an answer towards bringing about sustainable development. The earliest of them being the Telecommunication and Networking group (Tenet) that was started in 1996 and the group focused on strengthening of Indian telecom/networking industry. IITM’s Rural Technology and Business Incubator (RTBI) emerged from the Tenet group with a mission to design, pilot and incubate scalable business models/ventures with a rural/social focus leveraging on Information Communication and Technology (ICT). RTBI today stands proud and is growing with an admirable reputation for having nurtured and continuing to nurture entrepreneurs in the different domains such as livelihoods, education, healthcare, agriculture, energy and financial inclusion in India’s rural areas. This wouldn’t have been possible without the support from IIT Madras and its faculties not just in their technical expertise but also for their mentorship that helps our Incubator to retain the strong social focus.

Being housed in the thriving set-up of IITM’s Research Park facility, it provides an environment for research collaborations and interactions/linkages with other organizations in the ecosystem.

With the setting up of the new IITM Incubation Cell (IITMIC) in March 2013, RTBI is working very closely and actively involved in providing support and collaborating with them on different levels.